Suit alleges Billerica moving firm inflated fees

BILLERICA -- A Billerica moving company is being accused of allegedly inflating fees, demanding cash and holding goods hostage in order to receive payment.

On Friday, Attorney General Martha Coakley obtained a preliminary injunction order in Suffolk Superior Court halting deceptive and abusive practices by Father and Son Relocation Services, Inc. of Billerica, which does business as Father and Son Moving and Storage.

According to a complaint filed in court by Coakley's office, the company violated the state's Consumer Protection Act by giving low estimates to consumers and then inflating fees after loading the goods onto a truck, demanding payment in cash without advance notice, and threatening to hold goods hostage and auction them off if consumers did not pay the higher fees.

"We allege that this company lured customers by giving out low estimates they did not intend to honor, and then pressured them to pay higher fees in cash, or lose their belongings," Coakley said in a statement. "This court order protects consumers from further harm while we pursue this case and seek restitution."

Defendants in this case include Bryan Taylor, president of Father and Son, Keith Taylor, treasurer, secretary and director of Father and Son, and PR Taylor Enterprises, LLC, which does business as Father and Son Moving and Storage. The defendants offer services for consumers moving within Massachusetts and consumers making interstate moves.

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The company released a statement Friday afternoon saying it is not required to give customers a "pre-move estimate," but does so voluntarily to give customers as much information ahead of time as possible.

"Our initial estimates are based on information given to us by our customers over the phone," the statement read. "These estimates are non-binding, meaning that the actual charges for a move will depend on and may be re-calculated based on the requests of our customers at the time of the actual move."

Customers that request additional services at the last minute may be charged more than the original estimate, according to the company.

"When there are changes to the estimate, we always inform our customers and collect only the amounts we are required to collect under Massachusetts law," the statement read.

According to the complaint filed on Oct. 26, the defendants also provide storage and warehousing services for goods at their facility in Billerica, but prior to Aug. 30, had done so without the required license to operate a public warehouse issued by the Massachusetts Department of Public Safety.

Since May 2010, Coakley's office has received complaints from more than 80 consumers about Father and Son, pertaining to moves both out of state and within Massachusetts.

Coakley is seeing full restitution to consumers allegedly harmed in this case.

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